Interview with Micaela || Festival One Newbies

What is Festival One?

If you love Christian music and supporting local and international bands then Festival One is the place to be! Festival One is a Christian Music festival happening that happens at the end of January each year at Mystery Creek in Hamilton.

“Festival One is a celebration – a celebration of art, music, creativity and community, centred around the Christian faith. It’s about what it is like to be part of a large family, enjoying each other’s company, being inspired by great conversations, and celebrating creativity with outstanding music from artists of many genres. It is about having a rhythm to each day – at times full on, other times chilling with friends and enjoying good food, or even a free BBQ for the whole Festival!

It’s about seminars on a whole range of topics that invite and encourage discussion, and then more late night conversations! Festival One is about discovering that exquisite band or artist that you have never heard of, but who is communicating and playing with great skill. It is a place where people of all ages can feel safe – drug and alcohol free – and running to values that respect the sacredness of human life. It’s about meeting the people camping next to you and forming lifelong friendships.

And most of all, it is about celebrating the Christian faith which is the shared set of beliefs and ideals that brings this whole Festival together – fellow pilgrims on a journey towards the God of the Bible, and His Son, Jesus Christ.

So you’re going to Festival One?

Going to a big festival for the first time can be a bit overwhelming and you sometimes just have no clue what to expect. I’ve always found it helpful to talk to people I know who have been previously and check out the website for more info. However, as I am so excited to be going for the first time, I wanted to know as much as possible. So I decided to hit up my friend Micaela to get some insights for both you and me!

Meet Micaela

Micaela is one of my Best Friends and has just completed her Bachelor of Music (CCM) at Vision College. She’s been to Festival One before so I thought I’d hit her up to answer some of my burning questions. Micaela and her recital band will also be playing for the Vision College Showcase at the Wilderness Precinct at 1pm on Saturday 27th January. If you want a bit of a sneak peek you can check out her video of “Escaping” by Margaret Ulrich from NZ Music Month 2016.

SB: Do you have to bring food and things to cook it with?

M: If you’re keen on bringing your own food and it needs to be cooked then you’ll definitely need to bring something to cook it with. Festival One also have a lot of options for people food-wise, they have lots of food trucks that have so many different delicious foods! Make sure to check out the free Argentinian BBQ and free Salad bar on Saturday night too, tonnes of meat and vegetables are donated from around the Waikato for a communal dinner!

SB: What is the best part of Festival One?

M: Definitely the atmosphere. Everyone is so friendly and inclusive, it feels so welcoming! It’s so nice to walk down the Main Street and hear all different kinds of music playing from the different venues.

SB: What are some Festival One essentials?

M: Sunscreen and a hat! It is the most vital thing so you don’t get sunburn on your first day, otherwise, you will suffer during the weekend. Warm jumpers are important for nighttime, it can get quite cold in the evenings. Bring snacks with you so that you’re not spending all of your money on the food stalls

SB: What’s a typical day like?

M: Morning meetings happen first thing at 9:30am, and then there are a few performers you can go see in the morning. There’s a break for lunch at 12, where no performers will be performing at all so everyone gets a chance for a break. After that there are more performances, there are seminars, shopping in the marketplace…there are so many things to do! There’s another break for dinner at 5pm. This is the time where the headline artists will begin playing, and they are so good! After the headline acts have finished playing, head to the marketplace to meet new people! From 12am – 3am, people gather there and play games, hang out and play pranks. It’s honestly so much fun.

SB: Who are you most looking forward to seeing?

M: Definitely Beautiful Eulogy! They’re so good!!! Beautiful Eulogy is a Christian band from Portland, Oregon. They’ll be playing at the One Arena on Friday night at 10.30pm so make sure you check them out and I may see you there.

Thank you Micaela for joining us on the blog and giving us so quality insight into life at Festival One! You can still buy tickets for Festival One on their website.